'Gandhi a way of thinking which ideology of hate unsuccessfully tried to erase': Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said Mahatma Gandhi is not just a person, but a way of thinking that an empire, an ideology of hatred and arrogance of power, unsuccessfully tried to erase at different points in time.

Terming Mahatma Gandhi the "immortal soul of India", the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha paid tributes to the Father of the Nation, saying that along with Independence, he gave the nation a fundamental principle that the power of truth is greater than the power of authority.

"Mahatma Gandhi is not just a person, but a way of thinking that an empire, an ideology of hatred, and an arrogance of power have all unsuccessfully tried to erase at different points in time," he said in a post in Hindi on X.

"The Father of the Nation gave us, along with Independence, the fundamental principle that the power of truth is greater than the power of authority and that non-violence and courage are greater than violence and fear," Rahul Gandhi said.

This way of thinking cannot be extinguished, because Gandhi is immortal in the soul of India, he said.

Sharing lines of a Bhajan that Mahatma Gandhi used to sing, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "The hatred that separated us from Bapu, its solution also lies in Bapu's path. The light of truth, the power of non-violence, and the compassion of love. Homage to the Father of the Nation on Martyr's Day." Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary.

Party general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, recalled two separate letters written by Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1948 to Syama Prasad Mookerjee, in which they strongly criticised and raised questions on the activities of the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS.

"Both are damning indictments of the self-declared custodians of nationalism. And to think that there is a Lok Sabha MP wedded to that ideology and who was blessed by the PM himself, who said that he could not choose between Gandhi and Godse. His mindset is revealing," Ramesh said on X, in an apparent reference to BJP MP Abhijit Gangopadhyay's controversial remarks in 2024.

Ramesh also shared a link to Nehru's address on All India Radio on the night of January 30, 1948, after Mahatma Gandhi's assassination.

In his letter to Mookerjee, Nehru had said the Hindu Mahasabha had held meetings in Pune, Ahmednagar and Delhi in defiance of the ban order.

"Speeches were delivered that Mahatma Gandhi was an impediment, and the sooner he died, the better it would be for the country. The RSS has behaved in an even worse way, and we have collected a mass of information about its very objectionable activities," Nehru had said in his letter.

Ramesh also shared a screenshot of Patel's letter to Mookerjee in which the former criticised the activities of the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha.

Paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi, Congress general secretary in charge of the organisation, K C Venugopal, said that on this day in 1948, the greatest soul to ever guide India and the world was "snatched away from us".

"Today, on Martyrs Day, let's remember Bapu's eternal teachings of Satya and Ahimsa, and warn ourselves of the culture of hate and violence that gave rise to his assassins," he said on X.

"In 2026, the threat remains of their ideological descendants eager to wipe out Gandhiji from our national consciousness. Repeatedly, we see those in the ruling regime evangelise his killers, encourage hate, and are now erasing entire schemes named after Mahatma Gandhi," Venugopal said.

The powers that be may have a delusion that they will succeed in diminishing Bapu through such acts, he said. "But Mahatma Gandhi and his values are deeply embedded in India's psyche, and no amount of effort from those who oppose him can ever succeed in erasing his towering legacy.

Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on this day in 1948. India observes the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi as Martyrs' Day to honour the life and legacy of the nation's foremost leader and his ultimate sacrifice for peace, justice, and freedom.